Today marks one year since Fenger High School student Derrion Albert was beaten to death on his way home from classes.
Anjanette Albert says her son would be a high school senior applying for college right now if a fight hadn’t broken out one year ago. Thursday, she invited ABC7 into her home to talk about Derrion, his dreams, and the violence that continues to claim young lives.
The past twelve months have done little to ease Anjanette Albert’s pain.
‘I wish he was here,’ she said tearfully, a mother’s whisper that couldn’t be more clear.
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Derrion Albert was just 16 years old, an honors student at Fenger Academy, when he was caught in a brawl between rival groups of kids. His beating death, in full view of others, was caught on video and viewed across the world.
‘I’ve never seen it,’ the boy’s mother said. ‘But if he didn’t videotape that, then I don’t know where we would be right now.’
Derrion Albert would have turned 18 years old this school year. His mother says he had talked about wanting to go to law school one day.
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This weekend, Ms. Albert plans to attend an anti-violence rally at St. Sabina church. She says she continues to hope, despite the violence, that people will learn something from Derrion’s death.
